


Off and On

by redlipstickblackdress



Category: IT Crowd
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-08-02
Packaged: 2017-12-22 05:36:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/909517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlipstickblackdress/pseuds/redlipstickblackdress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new employee at Reynholm Industries gets a crush on Roy.  Moss meets a girl in the park who thinks he's cute.  Jen can't believe that both guys managed to get girls to like them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello, IT

Jen came out of her office to make sure the boys hadn’t done anything stupid in the past hour – they were suspiciously quiet in there. Besides, she needed one of them to set up a new employee’s computer. As she stepped outside her door, the phone rang. Roy snatched it up off of his cluttered desk, his face slouching into a bored, frustrated expression. 

“Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? No, is the little light on the side glowing?” he asked in a monotone Irish accent, running a hand down his face at the stupidity of the person on the other end. “Is it plugged in? Are you sure it’s a computer? Yes, I’ll hold.” With that, he slammed the phone back down and continued munching on a donut, wiping the glaze off his hand onto his jeans. 

“Roy, I need you to go upstairs, there’s a new employee who needs their computer set up,” Jen told him. Roy looked less than thrilled. 

“Moss can go,” he whined. 

“Excuse me,” Roy’s geeky co-worker protested, stiffly adjusting the items on his desk. “I am extremely busy right now.” 

“What are you busy doing?” 

“Labeling. With my label-maker. I haven’t even labeled my label-maker yet,” Moss said, holding up his label-maker as if this were a great tragedy and his highest priority. 

“Roy, someone needs to set up the new girl’s computer, now go to floor 7 and get her set up,” Jen instructed, going into supervisor mode. Sometimes she needed to give the guys a kick in the pants to get them to do anything. 

“Floor 7?” Roy perked up. Floor 7 was known for having an abundance of attractive women. He combed through his brown curls with his fingers in an attempt to make himself look less scruffy, but it looked about the same when he was done. The mess of curls coupled with the shadow of stubble covering the lower half of his face thwarted his attempt at tidiness. When he exited the lift on the 7th floor, he entered a wonderland of beautiful women sitting at desks that overlooked a wall of windows. 

When he found the desk of the new employee, he couldn’t see her at first because she was surrounded by a passel of five or six men in suits who were clearly there to check out the new girl. He managed to part some of the worsted-clad shoulders and get a look at her. She had autumn red hair tied back in a ponytail, hazel eyes framed by black-rimmed glasses, and was wearing a green blouse and a black pencil skirt that hugged her curves. 

“Hello, I’m Roy from IT,” he introduced himself, putting on a voice that was deeper than it was naturally. 

“Oh, good!” The woman had an American accent that made her stand out from the other attractive women on the 7th floor. “I need to get my computer set up,” she said apologetically to the suits, and they dispersed, some giving a judgmental glance at Roy’s jeans and t-shirt. “Sorry about that, I had no idea the people here would be so…welcoming,” she apologized. “I’m Tessa.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Tessa,” Roy said, still putting on a voice. Tessa gave him an amused look, but didn’t bring it up. “Let’s see if we can’t get you all set up.” 

Roy got down on his knees and crawled under her desk, finding a web of cords and wires. He was completely unaware of Tessa taking an admiring glance at his backside in his jeans as he fiddled with the cables. Roy tried not to get distracted by her bare legs that were incredibly close to his face as she sat in her computer chair. He honed in his focus on the computer wires and plugs. 

“So, I couldn’t help but notice your accent. Are you from Ireland?” Tessa asked. Roy jumped and hit his head on the bottom of her desk, her voice being much closer to his ear than he was expecting. He turned his head to give her an awkward smile and clammed up when he saw her bent over in her computer chair, leaning down to talk to him. Her perfume filled his head and he couldn’t help but notice the way the green silky fabric was straining against her ample chest. He managed to pull his eyes up to hers with every intention of saying something roguishly witty.

“Yes,” he managed to croak out. She smiled at him and he felt one side of his mouth curl up in a goofy attempt to smile back. 

“So…what do you like to do, Roy?” she asked, trying to prompt conversation. Not wanting to make an arse of himself in front of the new girl, he cleared his throat and tried to sound manly.

“Oh, you know,” he said, trying to sound cool and casual, “archery,” he finally decided to go with. She scrutinized him with a smile hiding behind her lips for a moment, then leaned even closer to him as if sharing a secret. 

“You made that up, didn’t you?” she asked. His eyes shifted back and forth as he tried to figure out if he should stick with his story or tell the truth.

“Yes, I did,” he finally admitted. She looked entertained by him. He turned back under her desk and plugged in one more cord, then crawled out from under her desk and stood up. “Well, Tessa, you should be all set up.” 

“Thank you. I’ll see you around?” He just kind of nodded awkwardly and left to go back to the basement.


	2. Roy Has a Crush

“How’d it go?” Jen asked when Roy returned. 

“Oh, it was fine, just fine,” Roy said absently, sitting back down behind his desk and propping his feet up on his desk, grinning. 

“What does that mean? Why do you have that look on your face?” Jen asked suspiciously. 

“No reason,” he replied, looking like the cat that ate the canary. 

“Ohhh,” Moss said knowingly, giving Roy a ‘you sly dog’ look. “I take it the new employee is a very attractive female?” Roy just replied with an affirmative gesture, as if to say to Jen, ‘see, Moss gets it.’

“Oh, for God’s sake, Roy. Can you ever just do your job without trying to get up some poor woman’s skirt?” Roy looked like he was thinking about it for a minute. Jen continued, “I have to go upstairs, Douglas asked to see me, now will you two behave until I get back?” 

Roy and Moss exchanged a look as she walked out of the IT office.


	3. The 7th Floor

“Tessa, I was wondering if I could take you to dinner on Friday?” another suited man asked. 

“Oh, no thank you Paul, I’m afraid I’m busy on Friday,” Tessa said apologetically. She was beginning to become annoyed by all the men asking her out. Perhaps they all thought they could easily get into her pants because she’s American, but she wasn’t interested in any of them. 

However, she thought the IT guy who’d set up her computer was pretty cute. He seemed nerdy and awkward, but she found that charming. Plus, it was nice to see someone who wasn’t shamelessly competing for her attention. Besides, the girls on the 7th floor seemed catty and jealous of all the ‘new girl’ attention she was getting. She hoped she’d get a chance to see the IT guy again soon – he was at least someone to talk to who wasn’t sleazy or bitchy.


	4. A Kite and a Collision

Moss held the spool of his kite string contentedly. 

“There’s nothing quite like flying a kite in the park on a Sunday afternoon,” he said happily to himself. 

Walking through the park was a rather small young lady in a 1950s skirt and cardigan with retro cat-eye glasses, red lipstick on her lips. Her eyes were not focused ahead of her, but were completely occupied by a book she held in front of her – The Metaphysics of Star Trek, to be more specific. Therefore, she did not see the dark-skinned kite-flyer on the hill. On his part, he didn’t notice her either, and so when she collided into him, it was quite a shock for both of them. 

“Oh, flip,” Moss said as the girl got tangled up in his kite string, sprawled out on the ground. “Just when I got it up.” She struggled to un-tangle herself, her book having flown off into the grass.

“Are you going to help me?” she asked in an American accent, looking at him and thinking that she had never seen a parted afro before. 

“Well, I suppose that would be the polite thing to do,” Moss concluded, more to himself than to her. He began to wind up his kite string as she twirled to unwind the string around her legs.

“I’m sorry about that,” the girl said. “I didn’t see you there.”

“I did not see you there either,” he replied in a rigid but friendly manner. She collected up her book and tucked it under her arm. 

“I’m Holly.” 

“Hello! Maurice Moss. The people I work with just call me ‘Moss.’” 

“Oh, what do you do?” 

“I’m an IT consultant at Reynholm Industries,” he told her cheerfully. “Anyway, goodbye!” And with that, he walked away happily with his kite. She tilted her head and watched him walk away, trying to figure out what she thought of him. Then, she shrugged and opened her book again.


	5. 7th Floor Drama

Tessa was bored out of her mind. There was little work to be done and she kept being pestered by suited business men trying to prey on the rookie. She was tired of it, and her thoughts sometimes wandered back to the cute, shy IT guy. 

“Steven keeps looking at you.” Tessa turned to look at her pretty blonde co-worker. 

“Does he?” she replied, uninterested. She didn’t even know which one was Steven – they all seemed the same to her. 

“He does. You’re so lucky, he’s gorgeous!” 

“I suppose…he’s not really my type, though.” 

“Well, I think you’re crazy,” the blonde said before sauntering off to the copier. Having had enough of all these dumb office middle school flirtations, Tessa decided to make her day a little more interesting. In a swift moment, she had her computer unplugged. She pressed a few buttons on her office phone and waited. It seemed like it rang a thousand times before she heard the disinterested Irish voice on the other end. 

“Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?” 

“Hello, Roy? This is Tessa from the 7th floor, we met yesterday?”

“Tessa…yes. I remember,” he said, his voice changing slightly, as if trying to sound casual but more interested than he was letting on.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s something wrong with my computer, could you possibly come up and take a look?” There was no answer. “Hello?...Hello?” Thinking they got disconnected, Tessa sighed in disappointment and hung up the phone.

A few moments later, Roy was standing next to her desk. 

“Oh, there you are,” she said, smiling at him. She stood up to let him sit in her computer chair. He smashed some random buttons and moved the mouse around for a moment before glancing under the desk to see that the plug was undone. He bent under the desk to plug it back in. 

“So, uh, Tessa,” Roy started with feigned nonchalance as he was still under the desk, “I was wondering…” he hesitated. He was planning on asking her on a date, but he had to stay cool. He didn’t want to seem too interested. 

“Tessa, do you have a minute?” a handsome suited man approached the desk. 

“Well, no, actually—” Tessa began, but was cut off. 

“I was wondering if you’d get a drink with me after work,” he said confidently. It was a statement, not a question. 

“Oh, that’s very sweet, but no thank you,” Tessa answered nonchalantly. The man looked at her in disbelief, and she looked at him blankly until he wandered away. “I’m sorry, what were you saying, Roy?” 

“What? Oh, nothing, it wasn’t important,” he said in an attempt to sound like he didn’t care. He’d abandoned the idea of asking her out after hearing her turn down a more impressive option.

“Oh,” she replied, a bit disappointed. 

“You should be all set,” he said, standing up. 

“Thank you, Roy.” He went away, and Tessa wished he had stuck around longer.


	6. Moss and Holly Meet Again

Moss and Roy sat eating lunch in the park when they were approached by a girl in a 50s dress and cat-eye glasses. 

“Hello, Holly!” Moss said cheerfully. 

“Hi, Moss. What are you doing here?” Roy looked between Moss and Holly with disbelief. 

“I’m eating lunch in the park with my friend Roy.” 

“Hello,” Roy said with a slight wave, still giving Moss a baffled look out of the side of his eyes. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Holly said. “I was just walking to an assignment for my job. I was headed to a boutique to write a review. I write for a fashion magazine, you see.” 

“Well, that explains your sweet style,” Moss said, cocking his head with attitude. Roy glanced at him as if to say, ‘this is seriously how you try to flirt?’ Moss looked at his watch. “Oh, we’d best get back to work.” The boys grabbed their stuff and stood up. “Goodbye, Holly!”

“I’d better get going too. See you around, Moss. Nice to meet you again, Roy,” she said. As she was about to walk away, she saw something on the bench – a pen with a label on it that said “Maurice Moss’s pen.” She grabbed it and went off to her review.


	7. Roy is Confused

“What was that?” Roy asked Moss as they were walking back to work. 

“I don’t know what you mean, Roy.”

“How do you know a girl that I don’t know?” 

“Oh, that. I met her in the park on Sunday when I was flying my kite. She’s a lovely young woman,” he said, very earnestly. 

“Yes, she is, which is why I’m a little confused why she was talking to you.”

“What do you mean by that, Roy?” While Roy struggled to come up with a non-offensive way to tell Moss that he was clueless and socially awkward, Moss continued. “Sometimes the ladies just can’t resist my roguish charm,” he finished spiritedly. Roy looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

“No, I don’t think so,” Roy shook his head. 

“I’m a sexy animal, Roy. Deal with it,” Moss retorted, tilting his head to the side sassily. Roy rolled his eyes as they entered Reynholm Industries again.


	8. Flat Mates

“Where’s my pen, Roy?” Moss asked frantically, looking around on his desk, in his pockets, and through his desk drawers. 

“I don’t know where your pen is, Moss,” Roy said for the thousandth time. “Just use another pen.” 

“But it had my name on it! I used my label-maker.” 

Tessa walked down the creepy basement hallway and finally found the door. She walked in and saw a cluttered room with two desks, a couch, and…stuff. Stuff everywhere. Roy looked up from the far desk and looked surprised for a moment. His co-worker turned and stiffly looked at her with caution. 

“Hi, Roy. I just thought I’d come down and say hello,” she said. Roy tried to say something witty, but was interrupted by Moss. 

“Hello!” he said brightly. 

“Well, Tessa,” Roy said, trying to sound charmingly cavalier. “What can I do you for?” 

“Just before lunch, you were going to ask me something,” she prompted. 

“Me? Uh, no, no, I wasn’t going to ask anything. Nothing at all. Not a thing.” She didn’t really buy it, but let it go. She turned and let out a small shriek of surprise as she realized someone was standing right there. She looked up to see a goth-looking man with long black hair, a pale face, and dark lips. He was wearing a ruffled purple shirt. His eyes were widened wildly. She held a hand to her heart and took a step back. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said amicably. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she replied, calming herself down. 

“I’m Richmond,” he introduced, smiling at her in a friendly manner. 

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Tessa.” 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Richmond turned his head and stared into space dramatically, waving his hands in a mystical manner. Tessa glanced over to see if there was something he was looking at, but didn’t see anything interesting. Then, as if it had never happened, he snapped back to normal and gave her another smile. 

“Well, I’d best get back to work. It was nice meeting you,” he said before disappearing behind a red door. Tessa was trying to figure out what had happened when Jen came out from behind another door that said “relationship manager” on a metal plaque. The woman saw her and stopped in her tracks. 

“Hello, can I help you?” she asked tentatively. 

“No, I was just saying hi to Roy,” Tessa answered, and Jen gave Roy a questioning look that he returned with a shrug. Jen was clearly baffled to find a woman visiting Roy in the office without beating him up. Just then, another woman entered the office – it happened to be Holly. 

“Oh, there you are, Moss,” Holly said. 

“Hello, Holly!” He gave her a smile and a wave. Jen straightened up and her eyes went out of focus as she tried to figure out if she was dreaming or if the universe had turned upside down, because she could see no other explanation why Moss and Roy would each have an attractive female visitor in the office who wasn’t angry with them. 

“You left this in the park,” Holly handed Moss the pen. 

“Oh, there it is! Thank you for returning it safely,” he said merrily.

At this point, Jen held up her hands in surrender of the whole situation and walked back into her office without a word, closing the door behind her. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but notice that you’re American,” Tessa said to Holly. “I am too.” 

“Oh, really? I’m Holly. I’m from Oregon.”

“Tessa. I grew up in Colorado,” she replied. “We should get together sometime,” Tessa said sincerely. She loved England, but it was nice to meet someone from the country she was raised in. 

“Yeah, I’d like that!” Holly said, agreeing to a girl date. “My schedule’s a bit busy at the moment, I don’t like the place I’m living and am looking for a new one.” 

“Oh? I don’t know what your requirements are, but I’m actually looking for a flat mate at the moment,” Tessa responded. The two women walked out, chatting about logistics and exchanging phone numbers and Roy rested his head in his hand, elbow on his desk. No matter how much he tried to play it cool, women intimidated him, and he relaxed when they were gone. He glanced at Moss, who was focused on sticking a label to his forehead that said “Maurice Moss.”


	9. Thoughts of Roy

Tessa couldn’t figure out why Roy hadn’t asked her out. Maybe he just wasn’t attracted to her like so many other men at the company seemed to be. She didn’t really understand why – in America she’d never been such a hot commodity. It must be because she was new. 

Still, none of the other men interested her. Roy was perfectly her type, and although she’d love to go out with him, it was nice that he wasn’t drooling all over her. It should have been flattering that so many men were interested, but it felt like some kind of status competition with them. Like they were all trying to see which one of them could get into the new girl’s pants the fastest. 

Roy didn’t seem like he was trying to get anything from her. He just seemed like he hadn’t had a lot of experience with women and didn’t really know how to interact with them. It was a nice change from all the men who just expected her to jump at the chance to go out for drinks with an Englishman.   
She decided she’d just have to see what happened when she visited his office the next day.


	10. Accepting a Date

“Hi, Roy,” Tessa greeted him. He looked a bit confused about why she was there. 

“Tessa…do you have a problem with your computer?” he asked carefully. 

“No, it’s fine, I’m just bored is all,” Tessa replied, leaning over on his desk in her silky purple top. He tried not to get distracted by her cleavage. He looked blankly into her face, as she looked at him expectantly. At that moment, Richmond emerged from behind his red door. 

“Oh, Tessa. It’s good to see you again. You look beautiful,” he said with a smile, his dark painted lips contrasting against white teeth. 

“Thank you, Richmond, that’s very sweet of you to say.” 

“I don’t suppose you’d like to go out with me tomorrow night?” he asked politely. Tessa shot a glance at Roy, who looked embarrassed for Richmond. Well, if Roy wasn’t going to make a move, she shouldn’t bother turning down a perfectly nice guy for a date. 

“Sure, I’d like that, Richmond,” she said with a smile. Roy looked back and forth between them as if in disbelief. 

“Great. I’ll see you then,” he replied. Tessa smiled and sauntered out of the office.


	11. Absinthe Kisses

When Tessa arrived at the address Richmond had given her, he was already there and smiled at her. She was wearing a dark red V-neck dress, and he had on a loose black pirate-esque fencing shirt. She sat down on the barstool next to him. 

“Thank you for inviting me, I’ve never been to an absinthe tasting before,” she said. 

“Oh, well you’re in for a treat, then,” he said, before staring dramatically into space like he occasionally did. It was over a moment later.

The guide of the absinthe tasting poured samples and explained the history of absinthe, how it is made, and the origins, preparations, and traditions of the several samples. While Richmond and Tessa drank them, they discussed their jobs and interests. Tessa enjoyed Richmond’s company, he was very sweet and fun to be around. The tasting lasted for about three hours. When it was finished, they were both pleasantly buzzed. 

“Do you live far from here?” Richmond asked, taking Tessa’s hand to help her off her barstool. He was really quite the gentleman. 

“No, not too far.” 

“May I walk you back to your flat, then?” he asked. 

“Sure, I’d like that,” she smiled as he put a hand on the middle of her back to guide her toward the door. They chatted some more as they walked and got to Tessa’s door in what seemed like no time at all. 

“Well, I had a great time tonight, Richmond,” she said. 

“I did too, thank you for joining me. May I kiss you goodnight?” 

“Sure,” she said, giving a slight nod. Richmond put one hand on the back of her head and one around her waist, dipping her back and pressing his lips to hers gently. It was a good kiss, and as it deepened Tessa’s hands slid up his chest and into his hair. He stood her upright and gently backed her into her door, leaning against her and running his hands up and down her sides, down her neck, and around her back. 

“Get a room!” a random bicyclist shouted. He was ignored as the two tipsy people finished their mini make out. It was pleasant, but somewhat lacking in true feeling from either side. When they broke apart, they looked at each other a bit awkwardly. 

“Well, thanks for the great evening,” Tessa said, trying not to indicate that she was interested in another date. 

“The pleasure was all mine,” Richmond replied in the same manner. “I’ll see you around, Tessa.” She smiled and waved goodbye as he walked back down the street before she entered her flat. Richmond was a great guy and fun to be around, but there was no spark. However, she had a feeling they’d remain great friends.


	12. It's a Date

Moss was strolling in the park wearing his backpack when he encountered Holly. 

“Hello, Holly!” he shouted when she was close enough to hear, waving at her. 

“Hi, Moss. How are you today?” 

“Very well, thank you. And you?” 

“I’m great,” she smiled. 

“I’m glad to hear it. Well, goodbye!” he said buoyantly and began to walk off. 

“Wait, Moss,” he stopped. “I wanted to ask you if perhaps you might…go out with me on Friday night?” 

“Go out? As in outside? Is there a meteor shower on Friday? No, I’m so silly! I’d know about a meteor shower!” 

“No, I don’t mean go outside, I mean go out. To a film, perhaps?” 

“Oh, you want to see a film!” Moss exclaimed in understanding, and Holly nodded. “And you don’t want to see it alone, I don’t like to see films alone either,” Moss said. 

“No, Moss, I was thinking we could see a film…and get some dinner after?” she asked pointedly. 

“Well, I am usually hungry after I see a film,” he nodded. Finally, she gave up trying to be subtle, realizing that someone like Moss needed direct wording.

“I’m asking you if you want to go on a date with me, Moss.”

“Ohhhh! You’re asking me out on a date!” He looked thoughtful for a few moments. “Yes, I would like that.” 

“Oh! Great!” Holly smiled. “I’ll see you then.” 

“Okay!” he grinned, striding away. Holly smiled happily as she continued walking.


	13. Jen Has a Good Laugh

“What happened?” Roy asked when Moss walked into the office. “What’s with your face?” 

“What’s wrong with my face?” Moss asked right before Jen came out of her office. 

“Moss, why does your face look like that?” 

“Why do people keep saying that?” 

“You look like the cat that got the cream,” Jen said. 

“Well, I happen to have a date on Friday,” Moss informed them smugly. Jen burst into laughter. 

“You! Have a date?” she chortled. “That’s hilarious!” Moss looked at her through his glasses, waiting for her to realize that he was serious. 

“With who?” Roy asked. “The girl from the park?”

“Holly, yes. We are going to see a film and go to dinner,” he said with flourish. Roy looked mildly impressed.

“Let me get this straight,” Jen said, still chuckling, “you asked a woman on a date and she said yes?” 

“Technically, she asked me,” Moss said plainly. Jen stopped laughing at this and pressed her lips together when she realized that he was serious, trying to figure out what had happened in the universe. 

“It’s a good thing I get paid on Friday,” Moss said proudly, as if he never had think about this before, not being used to going on dates. 

“Oh, no, Moss, if she asked you, she should pay for your date,” Jen said informatively. 

“No!” Roy disagreed, “you women always say that, but you still want the man to pay for the date.” 

“Not all women are like that, Roy,” Jen insisted. 

“Don’t listen to her, Moss. They all say that, but in the end, they want you to pay.” 

Moss ignored any further attempt to convince him one way or another, continuing to label his belongings. Richmond came out briefly. 

“So, how was your date with Tessa?” Roy asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, it was fine, I guess,” Richmond said, slightly gloomily. “I don’t think we’ll go out again, though.” 

“Why is that?” Roy asked. Richmond stared off into a nonexistent distance, his hands motioning mysteriously, and began to explain as if in a reminiscent trance. 

“She wore a red dress, the color of passion that might have been. We sipped on absinthe – a smile here, a glance there. We took a walk. The dim light shined on her hair. We shared a lingering kiss at her door, and then I walked away into the night.” At this point, he seemed to snap back to reality and turned to Roy. “I think she was thinking of someone else,” he said, the only part of the explanation that made sense. “And I was thinking about how I could feel her rib cage. She has lovely ribs,” he concluded before wandering back behind his red door, everyone staring as they tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about.


	14. Awkward

Tessa stayed away from the IT department for a few days, she was too busy and besides, she didn’t want to stalk them down there. Just because the 7th floor was insanely boring didn’t mean she should spend all her time bugging the IT department. However, the next time she saw Roy, it was on the 7th floor. He went over to Cindy – a snobby brunette – and stood next to her desk until she looked up. Cindy rolled her eyes and moved aside so Roy could check out her computer. She tapped her foot impatiently, as if she were being massively inconvenienced by having to get her computer fixed. A few minutes later, Roy finished up and turned to walk back to the lift and found himself looking at Tessa, sitting at her desk a few feet away. He gave her a polite, shy half-smile and node, then walked away without a word. 

Tessa had no idea what was going on in his head – all the other men she worked with were easy to figure out, but he was surprisingly elusive. She decided that maybe she should be direct with him next time she saw him. At least then she’d know what was going on.


	15. Nerd Date

When Moss arrived at the cinema, Holly was already there in a white vintage sundress with a red cardigan, her cat-eye glasses framed by softly curled brown hair. Moss smiled and waved as he walked up, wearing a blue plaid shirt with a brown tie and an olive jumper over it.

“You look lovely,” he said politely. 

“Thank you,” she blushed. Moss held out a stiff bent elbow to her and she took it. He led her to the ticket counter and bought two tickets before Holly could even reach for her wallet, which she had been planning to do. He led them inside and they found some seats near the back in the center where they could have a perfect view of the screen. 

“What is this film about?” Holly asked before it started. 

“It’s a documentary about the solar system,” Moss answered excitedly. Holly was enough of a nerd to think that sounded interesting, and she smiled with equal eagerness. As the lights lowered, she slipped her arm through Moss’s, and he glanced at her a bit awkwardly but didn’t object. 

When the film was over, they walked to a small pub and ate while they chatted about the film and their jobs. When they were finished, Holly started to reach for her wallet but Moss insisted on paying. As they stepped outside, they sort of looked at each other awkwardly. 

“May I walk you home?” Moss asked. 

“Oh, you don’t have to, it’s several blocks away…” Holly protested. 

“I am a gentleman,” Moss insisted, “and a gentleman always sees a lady home safely.” 

With that, Moss held out his bent arm again and Holly took it and showed him the direction to go. When they arrived at her flat, Holly fidgeted, not going inside just yet, unsure what the plan was for the exchange of ‘goodnights.’ She looked at Moss hesitantly, her face open to him. 

“Well, goodnight!” he said cheerily before turning and striding back the way they had just come. Holly stood for a moment watching his back, then turned and unlocked the door to the flat she now shared with Tessa.


	16. Roy's Confusion is Cleared Up

Tessa couldn’t take it anymore. The people on the 7th floor were driving her insane and she still couldn’t even figure out what this company did, much less what her particular job was supposed to be. She had to visit the IT Department, if for no other reason than that it was a way to avoid the pathetic office drama that took place among the beautiful people of the 7th floor. 

“Knock knock,” she said lightly when she had taken the lift down and arrived at the IT door. Roy was on the couch playing a video game and Moss was labeling random objects around the room – Tessa had no idea what any of it was or to whom it belonged, but there was so much stuff down there and a good amount of it was being stuck with a tidily printed label. Roy paused the game and turned to look at her, his eyes widening as he took in her fitted green sweater dress, just as the phone rang and Moss picked it up. 

“Hello, IT?” he answered. “Yes…yes…no…yes…don’t be absurd…alright, alright, alright, I’ll be there.” Tessa listened to Moss’s side of the conversation and with that last part, he sounded vaguely frightened. When he had hung up the phone, Moss stood and nodded politely to Tessa. 

“Roy, I have to go upstairs. Someone accidentally blocked their browser with their firewall!” Moss chuckled as if this were the most hilarious thing he’s ever heard. “I’ll be right back,” he said with finality, then left the room with a simple, “See you later, Tessa!” 

“Here to see Richmond?” Roy finally asked her, a little sarcastically for her taste. He wasn’t facing her, but was pretending to play his video game, although he wasn’t focused on it, since Tessa noticed that he was just smashing random buttons and his character kept dying. 

“No, I was just bored. Why would you think that?” 

“Well, I just thought that you might want to see him again after your fancy date,” he retorted. 

“No, it was a fine date, but I think he and I both agreed that it wasn’t going to work out. We’re just friends. There was never really any spark anyway.” Tessa tried to ignore the fact that she could practically feel sparkage from Roy coming from his tensed back.

“Oh? Well if there wasn’t any ‘spark’,” he used the word with a trace of sarcasm, “then why did you say yes in the first place?” 

“Because you hadn’t asked me out and I figured I might as well give someone else a chance,” Tessa replied directly. At that, there was an explosion sound effect from the game as Roy’s character blew up due to its operator’s surprise at this turn of events. He tossed his controller to the side and jumped over the back of the couch, facing Tessa for the first time. 

“Hold on…could you say that again?” Roy asked cautiously, wanting to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. 

“I kept trying to get you to make a move, but when you didn’t, and Richmond asked me out, I thought, ‘he’s nice, so why not?’” 

“So…you only said yes to Richmond because you were waiting for me to ask you on a date?” 

“That’s what I just said, yes. Twice,” Tessa confirmed, waiting for him to catch up.

“You want to go on a date with me?” Roy asked in disbelief, still not getting it. 

“Yes, you idiot!” she all but shouted. His eyes shifting for a moment, Roy took a moment while his brain buffered, trying to process the situation. 

“Would you like to come to the pub with me after work?” he finally asked a bit hesitantly. Tessa walked closer to him, put her hands on his shoulders to bring his head down closer to her, rose up on her toes, and quickly kissed him on the cheek. 

“I’d love to,” she smiled before turning and walking out of the IT Department, leaving Roy standing there dumbfounded with an involuntary smile on his face.


	17. A Straightforward Woman

When Roy left Reynholm Industries for the day, he found Tessa waiting for him outside. They walked to a nearby pub. They sat at the bar and the bartender came over. 

“What can I get for you?” 

“I’ll have a Guinness, please,” Tessa ordered casually. Roy glanced at her as if impressed – for some reason, he had expected her to order something frilly, but he thought it was sexy that she didn’t. 

“Two,” Roy said to the bartender. 

They sipped their beers and discussed their mutual workplace, mostly making fun of their boss, Douglas Reynholm, and Tessa told him what it was like working on Floor 7, which was not as exciting as the rest of the employees of the company seemed to think it was. They ordered another round and were both hungry, so they decided to share a large order of chips. When they were finished and Roy had paid, it was already darkening outside, and they decided to take a walk. Strolling in silence for a few minutes, Roy got up the courage to tentatively reach over and take Tessa’s hand, and she smiled and laced her fingers through his. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Roy started, breaking the silence, “but you’re different than I thought you’d be.” 

“How so?” 

“It’s just that the other girls on the 7th floor are a lot more…” Roy searched for the right word. 

“Girly?” Tessa asked, hoping that he didn’t think she wasn’t feminine enough. 

“They don’t have enough brain cells to appreciate a Guinness,” he clarified. 

They walked a bit longer, neither saying much, neither feeling the need to speak. Finally, Roy offered to walk her home and they discussed likes and dislikes and found they had several things in common before they got to Tessa’s door, way too soon. She glanced over and saw that the light in Holly’s room was on, so her new flatmate must be home. 

“I’d invite you in but my flatmate is inside,” Tessa said apologetically. Roy was a bit surprised that she’d even consider inviting him in, but kept it cool. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I had a great time,” he said. 

“I did too,” Tessa agreed. “I wouldn’t mind doing it again,” she hinted. 

“I would like that as well.” Roy was shifting a bit, not sure how to handle the at-the-door situation. Tessa twiddled with her keys and looked at him expectantly. She could tell he wanted to kiss her goodnight, but wasn’t sure if she would mind. 

“Well, uh…” Roy started. “Goodnight,” he said, although he didn’t necessarily make a move to leave. 

“You can kiss me, Roy,” she told him softly with a smile. 

Again, Roy looked surprised. Usually he had to guess at what women wanted, and he usually guessed wrong. It was refreshing to find a woman who was so direct with him. He didn’t have to parse out their woman language. Without another thought, he put his hands on the sides of her waist and leaned down to gingerly press his mouth to hers. She began to kiss him back and her hands slid up his arms, across his shoulders, finally resting in the curls of hair on the back of his head. With this encouragement, Roy pulled her in closer, his arms slipping around her waist and his hands sliding up her back. Her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies – he kissed her eagerly, tenderly, but with a hint of hesitation, as if he were afraid he was going to mess it up. All she knew was that if this kiss didn’t have spark, she didn’t know what would. When they finally broke the kiss, they both smiled and Roy took a step back to keep himself from doing ungentlemanly things to her in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“Goodnight, Tessa,” he said in a voice that was a touch more high-pitched than normal. 

“Goodnight, Roy,” she said, smiling at him over her shoulder as she unlocked her door and went inside.


	18. Picnic in the Park

Moss arrived at Holly’s flat on Sunday and knocked on the door in a syncopated rhythm until she opened it. She was wearing a blue sundress and held a wicker picnic basket. She smiled at Moss and he told her she looked beautiful, then offered to carry the basket while they walked to the park. It was a short walk and soon they found a nice area to lay out a blanket and Holly opened the basket. They had a lunch of shepherd’s pie, which Holly had just learned to make. When they were finished, they relaxed back on the blanket and began to discuss what various clouds looked like. Moss was significantly better at this game. 

After a while, they sat up and Holly pulled out strawberries and cream for dessert. When they’d had enough of that, they just relaxed and talked about their childhoods and pasts for a while. Suddenly, Holly got the urge to kiss him – he was just too adorable. However, as she leaned in, their glasses bumped awkwardly. 

“Ow,” Holly said, rubbing the space between her eyebrows. 

“Hang on…did you just try to kiss me?” 

“Yes…” Holly was a bit embarrassed. 

“Oh, okay! Just checking,” he replied pleasantly. After a moment, Holly uncomfortably responded.

“Could I try that again?” she asked. Moss tilted his head thoughtfully for a few moments, looking up as if trying to get a response from the heavens. 

“Yes, I would like that,” he finally concluded.

Holly carefully removed her glasses, and Moss’s eyes widened slightly at the change of appearance – she was beautiful with glasses, but it was also nice to see her blue-gray eyes without the impediment. He thought she had lovely eyes. 

She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in slowly until she felt his soft, warm lips on hers. He was a bit stiff at first, but soon he began to move his lips on hers, almost experimentally. He relaxed and put a hand on her face, softening the kiss. A moment later, they heard someone coming up the hill and broke apart abruptly, trying to act like they hadn’t been kissing when a couple walked by. After that, they felt too awkward to get right back into it, so they packed up the picnic and began to walk back. 

When they got to the door, Moss handed Holly her picnic basket as soon as she had the door unlocked. She set it down inside and gave Moss one more quick kiss before he left.


	19. Moss is Twitterpated

On Monday, Moss was all smiles in the office, and Roy and Jen exchanged a look as they saw him stick a label on the red door that said “red dore.” 

“Moss, what has gotten into you? It’s not like you to misspell something,” Jen finally asked. 

“Oh, nothing, I just think I have a girlfriend,” he said proudly. 

“You think you do? Don’t you know?” Jen had to ask. 

“Who, Holly?” Roy demanded. 

“We kissed in the park. Anyone could have seen us,” Moss informed them jauntily, as if this made him some kind of thrill-seeking daredevil. 

“Ah, yes, the thrill at the possibility of getting caught,” Roy agreed, although somewhat sarcastically. 

Jen just walked back into her office to try to figure out why the universe had turned upside-down.


	20. Holly Interrupts

Tessa had just checked her roast that was in the oven, Holly having agreed not to be home for at least a few hours. Just as she was checking the potatoes, Roy arrived, knocking a few times on the door. She threw open the door, wearing fitted jeans and a green top, and invited him inside. Once the door was closed, he bent down to press a lingering kiss on her lips. 

“It smells amazing in here,” he said in his Irish accent. 

“Thank you. Everything should be ready any minute.” She poured him a nice traditional porter that she knew would go well with the meal, and they sipped it for a few minutes while Tessa got everything together. While they ate, they discussed everything from sports to how they both ended up in London. When they were finished, they brought their dishes to the sink and brought their porter over to the couch to chat some more in a more comfortable setting. 

Each of them had just finished their third glass of porter when Tessa set her glass down on the coffee table, then put a hand on the back of Roy’s neck, the other on his chest, bringing her mouth up to meet his. Roy set his empty glass down on the table next to hers and put his hands on her waist, kissing her back passionately. Their lips parted and tongues began to explore, and soon the kissing had gotten a bit heated and Tessa lowered her back to the couch, bringing Roy down partially on top of her. His hands slid up her sides and she sighed into his mouth, when they were interrupted by the sound of a key turning in the door. 

They both bolted up and tried not to look embarrassed as Holly entered – Tessa hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. Holly politely greeted them, then disappeared into her room, having the feeling that she had interrupted something. 

“I suppose I’d best be going,” Roy said, his voice a bit hoarse from leftover sexual tension. Tessa nodded, blushing about being interrupted by Holly, and led him to the door. 

“I had a wonderful time tonight,” she told him, and in reply he leaned down to give her another long, passionate kiss before she closed the door behind him.


	21. Holly and the Hooligans

Moss dreaded walking home – he knew that he was going to run into the ruffians who bullied him. He held his back pack straps tighter against his chest and braced himself for the worst. 

“Hey, four eyes, nice glasses,” one of the large men said menacingly. Moss continued walking, but they followed him and jostled him around a bit. Why did they always do this to him? 

A moment later, he saw Holly approaching. Oh, no. He didn’t want her getting hurt by these hooligans. The men started wolf whistling and saying crude things as Holly approached – she didn’t have her glasses on today and was wearing a low-cut red sundress that matched her lipstick. 

“Hey sweetheart, how about you and I go somewhere and I can show you things you’ve never experienced before,” a guy said sleazily. 

“No, thank you,” Holly said in an overly sweet voice, “I’m meeting my boyfriend.” With that, she wrapped her arms around Moss’s neck and kissed him soundly. When she broke the kiss, she laced her fingers through his and they both walked away while the bullies stared, too shocked to do anything more.


	22. Poor Jen

Jen came out of her office to find that an apocalypse must have happened. It was the only explanation for it. Roy had his arm around Tessa on the couch, and occasionally they would sneak a quick kiss. Holly was leaned over Moss’s desk, smiling while he stuck something to her forehead. When Holly turned, Jen saw that it was a label that said, “Maurice Moss’s girlfriend.” 

At that, Jen went back into her office, unable to handle the fact that both Moss and Roy had girlfriends and she didn’t even have a date.


End file.
